On the last Saturday of May, during the Pentecost weekend, our lab, including the Isala team, was represented at the Nerdland Festival. Nerdland is an awesome science festival at ‘Domein Puyenbroeck’ in Wachtebeke (East-Flanders). Of course, we were more than happy to be there. 😊 In fact, it is the largest outdoor science festival in Belgium, spread over three days! More than 20,000 visitors, large and small(er), were welcomed to get a taste of the nicest and coolest things science has to offer (and yes, that’s a lot!). Over 200 shows, talks and demos were organized, thereby completely transforming ‘Domein Puyenbroeck’ into a real science paradise with a lot of experiments and topics such as space travel, hacking, robots, dinosaurs, insects, virtual reality and so much more!
Together with you, we would like to relive this day full of science and technology. Once you arrived in this peaceful natural area, accompanied by beautiful weather (thanks to meteorologist Jacotte who was also a ray of sunshine at the festival itself), you were greeted by ancient Roman engineers who showed you the use of different instruments in those older days. A little further on the site, you could get lost in a bunch of scientific knowledge in ‘the Jungle’. Oh yes, our stand was located over there! Deep in the jungle, we talked about healthy bacteria in a healthy body and how these bacteria can influence the vaginal ecosystem. It was also possible to test your knowledge about vaginal health and lactic acid bacteria with various original quizzes. For the smaller scientists we had provided a separate quiz in which they could discover which bacterium they most closely resemble! There were five possibilities: Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus jensenii, Lactobacillus iners, Streptococcus or Staphylococcus. As a true fan of Isala, you will probably recognize the first three bacteria but the last two are also well known in our lab and closely investigated over there. In the figure below, you can see the results! The variety of visitors and their personalities is clearly reflected in the different outcomes of the quiz. We truly had a blast! 😊
After reading this blog, you might also want to know which bacterium you most closely resemble? In that case, make sure to fill out this short questionnaire! Do you rather prefer to test your general knowledge on the vagina or lactic acid bacteria? Then these questionnaires are exactly what you are looking 😊 By scanning or clicking on the QR codes below, you immediately go to the right quiz page!
Together with large and small we found our way in and out this scientific jungle! Enjoy a little more with the best pictures (thanks to UAntwerp photographer Jonathan Ramael) of this beautiful day filled with sun, experiments, experiences and science! We hope to see you next year! 😊
